Thank you for including me in your Monday, kittens & dawgs! Our big giveaway is still underway until next Monday. Have you entered yet? If not, what are you waiting for? Do it now!
This week’s mewsic theme is “Your Choice” and I invite you to hit the dance floor with the 4M gals – XmasDolly, Stacy, Colette , and little ole me. Link-up and enjoy the fun!
Today is DH’s birthday!
To honor the birthday boy on his special day, I created a playlist of 1959 Billboard Top Chart songs from his birth year according to Wikipedia. The top song in July was Lonely Boy by Paul Anka (#11 on playlist).
Now, I want to share mewsic that makes me think of him. Some of the songs have specific memories connected with them and others are important for reasons I now can’t remember.
This playlist is sure to grow as new tunes come to mind but I have a good start and I hope you enjoyed the mewsic. Tonight, the birthday boy is having more triple chocolate cake with vanilla bean butter cream frosting. We did early celebrating over the weekend. I made a cake like this for DD#1 last month but if you missed that post and want to check out the recipe, then you’ll find it here. Per DH’s request, I left the chocolate chips out of his cake which we actually liked better! What a shocker!!
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What a darling photo of your hubs! Happy belated birthday to him! I know I’m late catching up. hope y’al had a great celebration.
Colette,
No worries with the late visit. I know how life gets in the way, especially during the summer when you have wild little Indians at home and then your visit from your mother. I appreciate you playing catch up with me, though.
Happy belated birthday to DH! I hope you had a great time.
Thank you, Tonja!
1959. Hmmm…I was in 2nd grade. I know all of these songs. But my favorite 1959 song? Mack the Knife. I went to the same high school as Bobby Darin (not at the same time, of course) and, between that and Beyond the Sea, I could just go swoonin’.
Alana,
I know I replied to your comment yesterday and yet it’s not here. What’s up with that? *scratch head* Oh well, I shall try again.
That’s really cool that you went to the same high school as Bobby Darin. I can imagine all the girls’ hearts did that swoonin’ thingy. It’s always amazing to find a fellow blogger who either has a friend of a friend of a famous person or attended the same school as a big celebrity. The closest I come is, the author of the “October Sky” (It was first published as The Rocket Boys before it became a movie) Homer Hickam grew up in the same county of West Virginia as I did. He’s probably 10+ years older than me. He attended a rival high school, too. But…it’s still exciting that someone from the rural hills of my home state accomplished his dreams. BTW, the October Sky premiered in Knoxville and was filmed mostly in Oliver Springs (near Oak Ridge, TN). Of course, Knoxville has a few natives to go on to make it big in Hollyweird or the mewsic industry- Patricia O’Neal, Johnny Knoxville, Kenny Chesney, and David Keith (DH worked on the same floor of TVA as David’s dad did back in the 80s. David visited his dad on occasion but I never saw him nor did DH.) to name a few.
Happy Birthday to DH!! Mine was yesterday
Well…Happy Birthday to you, Ellen! That’s cool you and DH share the same birthday. I think it’s neat that my daddy and my DH share the same birth month with 9-days separating their birthdays. My parents, my siblings, our children, and DH’s birthdays are close together starting in April running through July but my birthday is way out there in left field…December.
I hope you had a good birthday, my friend. I’ll stop by to see you soon!
You have some great tunes in both playlists. “Venus” is one of my favorites; there’s just something about the teen idol singers like Frankie Avalon, Bobby Vinton, and Paul Anka. Happy birthday to DH!
John,
I remember watching the old beach movies with Frankie Avalon. They didn’t run them too often so when they did it was a special treat. Bobby Vinton angelic style vocals made his love songs sweet and tender. I understand how he achieved success during a predominant rock n’ roll era. I found a wonderful playlist of his mewsic. I just “Blue On Blue”! His mewsic really transports me back in time. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!
I used to see a lot of the beach movies on “The 4:00 Movie” in Chicago (WLS-TV). All those movies ran around 90 minutes, and you’d think they’d fit easily in the 2 hour timeslot, but they’d still be hacked to death so they could get more commercials in. Then, they moved the movie to 3:30 and made the slot 90 minutes so they could add a 5:00 newscast, and you were lucky to see an hour of the film.
Bobby Vinton had a great voice and was really hot before the British Invasion. He kept making records after that, they just didn’t get much airplay (until “Melody of Love”). Maybe I’ll do a whole subsection of my next Two for Tuesday dedicated to the singers from the early Sixties…
John,
Commercials are such a killjoy! That’s the one thing I like about streaming, except for whenever I try to watch something on a network app and then you just see the same set of commercials ten zillion times. I don’t see the point of it but then that’s advertising for ya. Doing a dedicated post on Bobby Vinton sounds like a cool idea. I’ll try to hop over to check it out, too! Have a good day.
Actually, I already have… https://thesoundofonehandtyping.wordpress.com/2014/01/28/two-for-tuesday-bobby-vinton/
I can always do him again…
John, that’s cool! I will check out your feature post on him tomorrow. Thanks for sharing the link!
This is a brilliant Birthday web card. I love, love, love it.
My little brother was born in 1959. I recall it well.
Myke,
I’m glad you liked the vintage pinup birthday gal I shared. I just love classic retro images of feminine, sweet women! Even when they were sexy and naughty, they radiate a sense of innocence unlike women photographed today. I remember when my siblings were born. I’m almost five years older than my brother and there are nearly ten years separating my sister and me. I remember the day my folks came home with my baby brother and sister vividly. Time is so fleeting! Thanks for visiting and sharing with me, my friend. Have a good day!
Awwww this is wonderful Cathy! You are just too sweet! Hope hubby knows he has a sweetie for a wife! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DH & MANY HAPPY, HEALTHY & LOVING ONES TO COME!!! This is just fabulous! Love the tunes too! Alvin use to be my favorite when I was a kid… and when they came out with cartoons I was a huge fan!!! Rockin’ Robin’ was a huge tune of my brother’s. We use to jitterbug in the basement because he wanted to be the best at parties and he had no one to practice with so I became his partner… for a quarter! hahahahaha…. Ahhhhh I love old memories!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG GUY! HAVE FUN!!!! BIG HUGS TO YOU BOTH!!!
Happy Birthday to your DH! I just love the Platters, ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’. I could listen to that song forever. You’ve put together some really good playlists today. Enjoyed dancing and reminiscing with you.
Wishing your DH a very happy birthday! He was a cute baby and I bet he still is, yes?
The cake sounds delicious and the music hits all the right notes. You sure know how to organize a party, Cathy. Love the vintage pinup poster!
Debbie,
I can organize a virtual party pretty well but a real one is another story. lol I prefer small celebrations to big bashes but in Blogosphere, I like big fun!!
Thanks for stopping by to dance!
Great songs and I hope that DH is having a wonderful and blessed birthday.
Hey Cathy. Happy Birthday to your husband! What a neat gift to him, these playlists! I love it! I was surprised by how many songs I recognized from 1959! I love the “1959””Sleepwalk” one, and the Platters is a lovely song. I enjoy the Battle of New Orleans — that brings back memories and for some reason I’m thinking of camping, of all things. ?? I really like Kansas City: that has such a good sound and a great beat. A good dance song! Ya gotta have a little Mack the Knife! And my favorite of all time: the Chipmunks Christmas song! I had that album when I was a kid. So cute. I love them to this day…
As for the playlist your put together of songs that remind you of your husband: I LOVE every single song on there! Rockin’ Robin has always been a favorite of mine. I included Aubrey by Bread in my Songs with Names playlist — Bread had so many great songs. I haven’t heard that Debbie Boone song is ages. It reminds me of the early 80s when I was in college. Was nice to hear Carly Simon’s song too. And the Pink Panther theme: love that! Now the Pink Panther brings back a ton of fun memories…especially a time last year when I was working on the A-Z and doing TV Show Theme Songs: my brother was visiting and I was on the Ps; I posted a full-length Pink Panther cartoon and we were watching it together and busting a gut laughing. I will admit we had had a few drinks but we were laughing so hard it was like we had smoked pot or something. We could not stop laughing! That song will probably always remind me of that night here on the couch, cracking up. (on a side note: my brother will be here in a few days! My mom is moving here — finally! And my brother and sister-in-law are flying down with her to help her get settled. I just may pull out the Pink Panther cartoon video again…
)
And I love the Pin-Up Girl poster you have here. We used to have a hassock just like that one! Oh, I miss those!!!
Great post here today Cathy. Again, send my birthday wishes to your hubby and you guys have a nice day celebrating. I always say when your birthday falls on a Monday it means you get to celebrate it all week long! Have fun!
Michele at Angels Bark
Michele,
Thanks for the bday wishes for DH. We had a good time over the weekend. I made him a nice dinner of sausage and lentil soup with home-made pimento cheese sandwiches and of course the cake. I hadn’t made the soup and cheese spread in a long time, so it was a yummy treat for us. It’s great having you on the dance floor today, my friend. Have a good week and enjoy your time with your family!
Happy Birthday to your DH!! What a sweet Bday tribute post!
And that cake sounds fabulous – my personal preference would be to leave the chocolate chips out, too. 
Loved your choices in your DH’s honor, Cathy! Nicely done! Thanks for the dance, and have a great week!
feels like Cellophane Waiting On You… but Why? Sorry Not Sorry!
Wishing a happy birthday to DH. The cake sounds like my favorite. I know all of the songs on the list, but only recall hearing most of them after 1959. I don’t recall my parents playing the radio much or maybe I wasn’t paying attention. Then again certain songs like those by The Chipmunks and “The Battle of New Orleans” register frequent hearings in my memory so maybe I was only paying attention to things that I liked at the time.
Lee
Tossing It Out
Lee,
The tunes from DH’s birth year, I heard many years later. But, like you, I think in my early years I only paid attention to the songs that caught my ear. I reckon we’re all like that, though. The cake is yummy. If you’re a chocolate lover then you’ll like it a lot! Thanks for the bday wishes for DH and for the visit. I’ll see you soon!
Hi, Cathy!
Happy birthday to hubby DH! Turns out he’s nine years older than Shady. I was already a veteran “DJ’ by 1959, playing my parents’ and big brother’s 45s on my tiny tinny turntable down in the basement. The entries on the 1959 play list you posted bring back many personal memories of my boyhood. They also remind us of the wide variety of mewsical styles that made the pop chart during the period. The Chipmunks song reminds us of the many novelty ditties that were popular in the late 50s, many of them spooky Halloween records. I can no longer listen to the Platters song “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” without thinking of one of my favorite teen horror films, Night Of The Creeps, which used “Smoke” in the soundtrack contrapuntally – “music opposite to the emotion expected from the narrative.” In this case, the gentle ballad played over a series of ax murders. “Stagger Lee” reminds us that many R&B songs were, by the late 50s, set to a rock ‘n’ roll beat that catered to the tastes of teenage record buyers. Frankie Avalon’s dreamy ballad “Venus” always reminds me of Dick Clark and the early years of American Bandstand when teen idols like Frankie appeared on the hit TV show and racked up numerous hits. “Happy Organ” and “Sleep Walk” are examples of the many instrumentals that made the chart in the late 50s and early 60s. Instrumental recordings had a tougher time gaining traction after 1964 when vocal combos like the Beatles became the hot new style. The song “Kansas City” reminds us of all the recordings by American artists, many of them black, that were successfully covered by the Beatles and other Brit bands. “The Battle Of New Orleans” reminds us of the patriotic songs that rode high on the chart in the late 50s. “The Three Bells” by the Browns reminds us that folk songs were also more common on the chart during those pre-Beatles years. Bobby Darin’s “Mack The Knife” reminds us that recordings inspired by the big band era of the 30s and 40s were still popular in the late 50s.
The play list you composed of songs that remind you of DH for one reason or another is also a mixed bag. I suspect a few of your selections are songs that you and he heard, liked and became anchored to during courtship. Others might have lyrics that describe the type of person DH is in your eyes, heart and mind. If he is anything like Shady he will appreciate the Earl Moran pin-up you picked for this special occasion.
Once again happy birthday to DH and thank you for the mewsic and memories this morning, dear friend Cathy!
Tom,
Many of the songs that remind me of DH are those that either we listened to during our dating years or song lyrics of how I feel about him. He’s definitely like Shady and loves these vintage pins up girls as much as I love for their soft, sweet feminity. A time when girls were unapologetically girls! Thanks for hopping by this morning. I’ll be over to visit you shortly. Have a good day, my friend!